Navy wants to patent a pirate probability system

By Derek Major

Aug 25, 2015

The Navy is building a pirate probability system to help combat crimes on the open seas that cost the U.S. maritime industry up to $16 billion a year.

The artificial-intelligence-based system uses forecasts on ocean waves and currents coupled with intelligence data on pirates, including where known criminal groups' stations are based, how many people they usually travel with and their favorite spots to attack. The Navy has filed a patent application for the technology, which it says may one day could help ships recognize a threat ahead of time, according to Science Alert.

Depending on the outcome, the Navy suggests the system also could be used to predict the probability of other activities that are subject to meteorological and environmental conditions, such as anti-narcotics efforts, undersea warfare operations, mine warfare operations and human trafficking interdiction.